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We live in a time when “making it” increasingly has a very tangible definition, like having a new car, a dream house, or a higher salary. Well, none of these things is inherently wrong. In the end, wanting financial security, a beautiful home, a comfortable life, or professional success is ok.

But somewhere along the way, I think we started confusing the things that make a life look successful with the things that actually make a life feel successful. And obviously, social media has accelerated this. Cuz the the things that are easiest to show are the ones we have started valuing most.

You can show your new car, house, holiday. You can show your salary indirectly through the lifestyle you display. But you can't really show peace of mind or a rested state of you. You can't easily show that you have a healthy relationship with yourself or a photo of people who genuinely love you.

Cuz the most valuable things in life are often the least visible. And that's what makes this whole thing strange. We compare our entire, ordinary lives to other people's most "carefully selected evidence of success". So when posts their new house. We see the house. We don't see the mortgage.

Someone posts their perfect morning routine. We see the coffee, the Pilates & the journal. We don't see what their mind feels like when the camera is off. Or when they post a luxury vacation. We see the hotel, the restaurant, the shopping. We don't see the rest of their life.

Yet slowly, we make it a scoreboard without us realising it. But what if we're measuring the wrong things? What if success also means having enough time in your day to breathe? Having meaningful friendships. Being able to spend an afternoon doing absolutely nothing without feeling guilty.

What if being successful means having work that doesn't consume your entire identity? Having a mind that isn't constantly racing. Having the freedom to say no. Having time to daydream? These things don't necessarily look impressive. But they might be some of the greatest forms of wealth.

And again, I don't think the answer is to reject material success. The problem is when we start believing that having these things is proof that we're worthy and happy. Cuz if we're not careful, we can spend years building a life that looks incredible from the outside but empty on the inside.

I think success isn't only about how much you've accumulated. Maybe it's also about how little you have to prove. Maybe it's about having enough money, but also enough time. It's having ambition, but also knowing when to stop, or having beautiful things, but not needing them to validate you.